It's a bad day to have triskaidekaphobia! If you're not sure what that means, look it up.
If you want to become a better writer, guess what advice I would give you? Read! My favorite author, Sherman Alexie, has advised, “Read. Read one thousand pages for every page you write.” But Ms. Sanford, how is reading going to help me with my writing?! Think about this for a moment. When you read, beyond just enjoying the plot and connecting with the characters, you are also subconsciously (which means “without thinking”) picking up on details. The more you read, the less work your brain has to do when it comes time to write your own thoughtful responses.
Additionally, when you read, you automatically expand your vocabulary. I have learned some of my favorite words by reading different books (cornucopia, nonchalantly, palatable, nostalgia, perpetual, oblivion, etc.). Just remember we are not born with a set vocabulary. We learned how to say our first words when we were babies, but that’s only because we heard those words get repeated over and over and over again by the people around us! When you see a word pop up in more than one location, you should be making a mental note that this is a word worth learning. You will also see new vocabulary words pop up in the discussions we have and even during certain television shows you watch!
Speaking of television, there is another short story that I am a fan of, and it is called “The Pedestrian” by science fiction author Ray Bradbury. We will read this next week. In this story, Mr. Leonard Mead goes for an evening stroll in the year 2053 to get some fresh air, but he is the only person out and about. All the other people are inside their homes watching television. In this world, there’s only one police officer patrolling the neighborhood, and the police officer stops Leonard, believing his activity to be suspicious. What is interesting about this story is that it makes something as innocent as taking a walk suddenly seem alarming. “The Pedestrian” forces us to consider the following: What happens when we look down upon and replace human interactions, favoring screens and other electronic devices instead? We already saw this theme in class on Tuesday when I showed you “Touchscreen” by Marshall “Soulful” Jones.
-Ms. Sanford
P.S. I hope to see some of you at the library tomorrow morning. If you come, bring your library card and permission slip. Remember that this an optional opportunity, but I am only planning on being there for one reason: YOU! (:
If you want to become a better writer, guess what advice I would give you? Read! My favorite author, Sherman Alexie, has advised, “Read. Read one thousand pages for every page you write.” But Ms. Sanford, how is reading going to help me with my writing?! Think about this for a moment. When you read, beyond just enjoying the plot and connecting with the characters, you are also subconsciously (which means “without thinking”) picking up on details. The more you read, the less work your brain has to do when it comes time to write your own thoughtful responses.
Additionally, when you read, you automatically expand your vocabulary. I have learned some of my favorite words by reading different books (cornucopia, nonchalantly, palatable, nostalgia, perpetual, oblivion, etc.). Just remember we are not born with a set vocabulary. We learned how to say our first words when we were babies, but that’s only because we heard those words get repeated over and over and over again by the people around us! When you see a word pop up in more than one location, you should be making a mental note that this is a word worth learning. You will also see new vocabulary words pop up in the discussions we have and even during certain television shows you watch!
Speaking of television, there is another short story that I am a fan of, and it is called “The Pedestrian” by science fiction author Ray Bradbury. We will read this next week. In this story, Mr. Leonard Mead goes for an evening stroll in the year 2053 to get some fresh air, but he is the only person out and about. All the other people are inside their homes watching television. In this world, there’s only one police officer patrolling the neighborhood, and the police officer stops Leonard, believing his activity to be suspicious. What is interesting about this story is that it makes something as innocent as taking a walk suddenly seem alarming. “The Pedestrian” forces us to consider the following: What happens when we look down upon and replace human interactions, favoring screens and other electronic devices instead? We already saw this theme in class on Tuesday when I showed you “Touchscreen” by Marshall “Soulful” Jones.
-Ms. Sanford
P.S. I hope to see some of you at the library tomorrow morning. If you come, bring your library card and permission slip. Remember that this an optional opportunity, but I am only planning on being there for one reason: YOU! (: